The ship was a Greek trading vessel, of a type that was previously only known from depictions on the sides of ancient pieces of pottery – these include the Siren Vase, which is on display at the British Museum, and is pictured below.

Located under 2 km (1.2 miles) of water, the shipwreck remained intact thanks to the fact that water at such a depth is anoxic (oxygen-free), allowing organic material such as wood to stay preserved for thousands of years. The wreck was surveyed and mapped utilizing two remotely-operated underwater vehicles, one of which retrieved a small sample that was used for the radiocarbon dating.